Method of making a hairpiece



June 15, 1965 w, c 3,189,035

I METHOD OF MAKING A HAIRPIECE Filed Jam 31, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 75R HECK 6 yaw M661, a M

A rrokwvzns June 15, 1965 w. HECK 3,189,035 I METHOD OF MAKING A HAIRPIECE Filed Jan, 51, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent ()fii e Bddfidh Patented .lune 15, 1965 3,139,035 METHOD OF MAKING A HAIRHEQE Walter Heck, Dearborn, Mich, assignor to Walter Heck Hairpieces, Ina, Dearborn, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Jan. 31, 1%3, Ser. No. 255,356 Claims. (Cl. 132-5) This invention relates to a method of making a hairpiece. I The making of hairpieces is an old art and while various advances have been made in this art from time to time, nevertheless, even at the present time,'the making 'of a hairpiece is a time consuming, tedious job which accounts for the fact that expertly made hairp-ieces are relatively expensive. Even though such hairpieces are relatively expensive, nevertheless, hairpieces as conventionally made have certain other disadvantages in addition to their high cost. They have a tendency to deteriorate because of perspiration, repeated cleanings, etc.

'They must be cleaned with extreme caution and in many instances, hairpieces as conventionally made do not actually conceal baldness because of the obviousness of the hairpiece when on the wearer as a substitute for the users own hair. 7

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for making a hairpiece which avoids the dis-- advantages of hairpieces as conventionally made.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a method for making a hairpiece that will last almost indefinitely, that is unaffected by soap and water and can therefore be washed rather than requiring dry cleaning, that is much lighter in weight and cooler than a conventional hairpiece, and one which permits a very.

' present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the mold illustrated in FIG. 2 with the hairpiece foundation laid thereover.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the hairpiece in a partially completed condition.

FIG. 5 illustrates the manner in which strands of hair are secured to the threads .of the foundation fabric.

FIG. 6 is a View showing the step of applying a coating of a plastic resin to the head mold.

FIG. 7'shows the foundation with the attached hair applied to the resin coated mold.

FIG. 8 is a view of the inside of the finished hairpiece.

. FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the finished hairpiece showing the manner in which the hair at the forehead hairline is combed to conceal the edge of the .hairp-iece and impart to the wearer the appearance of natural hair.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner in which the knotted ends of the hair are embedded in the resin.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 the top of a head which is partially bald and for which a hairpiece is desired. The first step in constructing a hairpiece according to the present invention resides in the makingof a pattern which outlines the periphery of the hairpiece to be made. The pattern can be formed in any'desired mannen I prefer to form the pattern by placing over the scalp portion to be covered by the hairpiece a piece of transparent material such as a sheet of wax paper 10 and tracing thereon the outline 12 of the area of the scalp which is to be covered by the ha-irpiece. Thereafter, a mold of the head is constructed. This mold is designated 14 and is made in any suitable manner, preferably by making a plaster cast of that portion of the intended users head that is to be covered by the hairpiece. After the head mold is completed, an outline 16 is traced or otherwise suitably indicated on the mold 14 of the area to be covered by the hairpiece. The outline 16 is preferably made by utilizing the pattern 10. The area enclosed by outline 10 conforms in size and contour to that portion of the scalp to which the hairpiece is to be applied.

Pattern 10 is also used for forming the foundation of the hairpiece. In accordance with my invention, the foundation of the hairpiece comprises a sheet of glass fiber cloth. The weight of the glass fiber fabric may vary substantially. However, I prefer to use a relatively light weight glass fiber cloth, specifically the glass fiber cloth commercially available from .H. G. Goldsmith Company No. 181. As indicated in FIG. 3, the glass fiber cloth forming the foundation 18 is initially cut slightly oversize with respect to the outline 12 on pattern 10. However, the outline 12 is transferred or otherwise indicatedon the foundation 18' as indicated by the broken line referenced 20 in FIG. 3. The peripheral portion 22 of the foundation 13 as originally formed may extend beyond the outline 20 on the order of /2" or A."

After the foundation 18 is laid over the head mold 154 to verify that the outline 24 on the foundation registers with the outline 16 on head mold 14, the foundation is ready to have the hair applied thereto. This is done in the conventional manner and is commonly referred to as ventilating the hair into the foundation. The hair isventilated into the foundation through the 'use of a ventilating needle, a hooked needle much like a Crocheting needle, One or several strands of hair 24 are doubled and the return bent or looped end drawn through the fabric around one of the threads 26, then back through the fabric to the same side through which it was originally drawn and the opposite ends of the doubled hair strands are drawn through the loop formed by the doubled hair strands and pulled tightly to form the knot 23 which is conventionally used in attaching hair to a foundation member in making hairpieces. The hair strands are doubled on themselves near one end thereof so that the strands when knotted into the foundation have a long end 30 and a short end 32. The whole foundation within the area defined by the outline 20 has the hair strands 24 applied to it in this manner, the knots 28 being drawn tightly and the spacing therebetween being in accordance with the hair thickness desired on the finished hairpiece. After the strands of hair are ventilated into the foundation 18 as described, the hairpiece will assume the appearance illustrated in FIG. 4, the hair outline following the contour of the pattern line 243 and the peripheral edge portion 22 of the foundasolution. The polyester resins, when set, are relatively rigid and shape retaining. The polyurethane resins when set form a more flexible material. The use of a rigid type plastic such as a polyester resin or the more flexible type'such as the polyurethane resin will depend upon After the head mold is coated with a generally uniform layer of resin, the foundation with the hair applied thereto as illustrated in FIG. 4 is pulled down over the coated head mold. The peripheral edge portion 22 may be gripped with the fingers in order to stretch the foundation smoothly over the coated head mold. By pulling downwardly on the peripheral edge 22 of the foundation, the resin coating on the head mold is caused to flow into and substantially completely impregnate the foundation fabric. In so doing, the knots 28 are completely enveloped or encased by the plastic resin as indicatcd by the resin layer 35 in FIG. 10. The resin applied to the head mold is controlled in consistency and amount such that it just penetrates through the foundation without appreciably penetrating into the layer of hair on the foundation. When the foundation is stretched tightly over the head mold, it is adjusted thereon so that the outline 29 on the foundation registers rather closely with the outline 16 on the head mold (the fiber glass fabric is rendered somewhat transparent when impregnated with resin). adjusted on the head mold, it is left thereon to permit the resin to set.

Before the resin has completely set, it is desirable to style the hair by combing it. For example, if the hairpiece is intended to have a hair style which includes a .parting line such as indicated at 34 in FIG. 8, the hair is combed to establish this parting line while the resin is still in a somewhat plastic state. The hair is combed into the desired style throughout while the resin is still in a somewhat plastic condition. This has proved to be a very desirable step because when so combed, the hair strands and the knotted ends thereof become oriented in the direction in which they are intended to lie in the finished hairpiece and are thus cemented in such fixedly oriented position on the foundation when the resin becomes completely set. This step of combing the hair to style it before the resin has completely set is particularly important with respect to the hair adjacent the forehead hairline 36 of the hairpiece. It is desirable that the front edge of the hairpiece where the hairpiece extends to the forehead of the wearer be relatively thin and the hair combed so as to conceal the edge of the foundation. This is accomplished by combining the hair along the front edge 36 forwardly before turning it upwardly and rearwardly into the desired hair style as shown at 38 in FIG. 9 so that the hair along the front edge of the hairpiece when on the wearer will conceal the edge of the foundation and thereby give the wearer a very natural appearance along the forehead hairline.

In combing the hair before the resin has completely set, it may be necessary or desirable to shield the peripheral edge 22 of the hairpiece foundation as well as the adjacent portions of the head mold 14 to which the resin has been applied. This shielding can be easily accomplished by merely covering the exposed resin-coated and impregnated portions of the mold 14 and foundation 18 with wax-coated paper or the like which will not readily adhere to the resin.

After the hair is properly styled so that the hair strands and the knotted ends thereof will be more or less properly oriented when the resin has set completely, the hairpiece is permitted to remain on the mold until completely dried; that is, until the resin has completely set. Depending on the resin used and the humidity and temperature of the atmosphere, this setting time may vary from a period of several hours to twenty-four hours or more. When the resin has completely set, the hairpiece is After the hairpiece is properly removed from the mold and the peripheral portion 22 of the foundation is carefully trimmed along the hairline. The shorter ends 32 of the hair are also trimmed off relatively close to the foundation as shown at 44 in FIG. 10. The edges may be sanded if desired although this is not necessary since by combing the hair prior to the complete setting of the resin as previously described, the edge of the foundation will be effectively concealed when the hairpiece is applied to the wearers scalp.

The hairpiece of the present invention is designed to be secured to the wearers scalp by means of double faced adhesive strips or pads 40 applied to the inner surface of foundation 13. In addition, to promote coolness and prevent perspiration, if perspiration should present a problem, the foundation may be ventilated by forming a plurality of relatively small holes 42 through the foundation.

Thus, it will be seen that I have provided a method for making a hairpiece which possesses several very desirable features in relation to hairpieces formed in the conventional manner. The hairpiece formed by employing the method of the present invention, by utilizing a glass fiber cloth impregnated with resin as the foundation, provides a very durable hairpiece. The foundation is unaifected by ordinary liquids and can therefore be washed with ordinary soap and water. Furthermore, this hairpiece avoids the problem .of perspiration penetrating into the foundation. One of the important features of my construction resides in the fabrication of the hairpiece so that the plastic resin completely impregnates the foundation and thereby envelopes and cements in place the knotted ends of the hair strands. This feature appreciably lengthens the life of the hairpiece. The manner in which the foundation with the hair strands tied thereto is impregnated with resin is also believed to be desirable because it not only effectively locks the tied ends of the hair strand to the foundation so that the knots are positively prevented from becoming loosened but enables this step to be performed in an expeditious manner.

I claim:

1. The method of forming a hairpiece which comprises forming a pattern conforming to the desired size and shape of the scalp to be covered by the hairpiece, utilizing said pattern to form from a piece of glass fiber cloth a foundation for the hairpiece which is slightly larger than the desired size and shape of the finished hairpiece, transferring the outline of said pattern to said foundation so that the outer marginal portion of the foundation provides a finger gripping portion extending peripherally around the pattern outline on the foundation, applying hair to that portion of the foundation lying within said outline by drawing strands of hair through the glass fiber cloth and knotting the hair strands to the threads of said cloth prior to impregnation and while the fabric is in a limp, flaccid condition, forming a mold having an outer surface which conforms in contour to the contour of the scalp to which the hairpiece is to be applied, using said pattern to indicate on said mold the size and shape of the portion of the scalp to be covered by the hairpiece, coating said mold With a plastic resin over an area slightly greater than the size of the finished hairpiece, said resin being of a type which when set will impart a relatively rigid shape to the foundation, overlaying the foundation with the hair applied thereto on the resin coated mold and registering the hairline on the foundation with the indicated pattern on the mold, utilizing said marginal edge portion of the foundation for gripping with the fingers to pull the foundation firmly down on the resin coated mold and thereby causing said plastic resin to impregnate said cloth and envelope the knots in the hair strands, permitting said resin to set so as to fixedly position and cement the knotted ends of the hair strands in place in the foundation and thereafter trimming off said marginal edge portion of the foundation along the hairline desired in the finished hairpiece.

2. The method called for in claim 1 wherein the plastic resin is applied to the mold in an amount and consistency which is substantially only sufii cient to substantially completely impregnate the glass fiber cloth.

'3. The method called for in claim 1 wherein said resin is of the polyester type which sets at room temperature when mixed with a hardener so as to impart said relatively rigid shape to the foundation.

4. The method called for in claim 1 wherein the hair is styled by combing it before the resin has completely set so that the hair strands and knotted ends thereof will be oriented in accordance with the desired hair style after the resin has set.

5. The method called for in claim 1 wherein the hair is combed along at least an edge portion of the foundation, so as to extend in a direction generally outwardly of said edge portion, before the resin has completely set,

5 so that the hair will tend to conceal said edge portion after the resin has set.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,000,525 8/ 1-1 Kubel ka 132-5 2,736,325 2/56 Dvorzsak 132-53 2,789,567 4/57 Jacoby 132-53 2,850,023 9/58 Taylor 132-54 2,907,334 10/59 Le Mole 132-5 3,037,261 6/62 Hess 28-74 3,077,891 2/63: Lane 132-5 3,081,780 *3/63 Cramer 132-5 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. RICHARD A. GAUDET, Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF FORMING A HAIRPIECE WHICH COMPRISES FORMING A PATTERN CONFORMING TO THE DESIRED SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE SCALP TO BE COVERED BY THE HAIRPIECE, UTILIZING SAID PATTERN TO FORM FROM A PIECE OF GLASS FIBER CLOTH A FOUNDATION FOR THE HAIRPIECE WHICH IS SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE DESIRED SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE FINISHED HAIRPIECE, TRANSFERRING THE OUTLINE OF SAID PATTERN TO SAID FOUNDATION SO THAT THE OUTER MARGINAL PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION PROVIDES A FINGER GRIPPING PORTION EXTENDING PERIPHERALLY AROUND THE PATTERN OUTLINE ON THE FOUNDATION, APPLYING HAIR TO THAT PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION LYING WITHIN SAID OUTLINE BY DRAWING STRANDS OF HAIR THROUGH THE GLASS FIBER CLOTH AND KNOTTING THE HAIR STRANDS TO THE THREADS OF SAID CLOTH PRIOR TO IMPREGNATION AND WHILE THE FABRIC IS IN A LIMP, FLACCID CONDITION, FORMING A MOLD HAVING AN OUTER SURFACE WHICH CONFORMS IN CONTOUR TO THE CONTOUR OF THE SCALP TO WHICH THE HAIRPIECE IS TO BE APPLIED, USING SAID PATTERN TO INDICATE ON SAID MOLD THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE PORTION OF THE SCALP TO BE COVERED BY THE HAIRPIECE, COATING SAID MOLD WITH A PLASTIC RESIN OVER AN AREA SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE SIZE OF THE FINISHED HAIRPIECE, SAID RESIN BEING OF A TYPE WHICH WHEN SET WILL IMPART A RELATIVELY RIGID SHAPE TO THE FOUNDATION, OVERLAYING THE FOUNDATION WITH THE HAIR APPLIED THERETO ON THE RESIN COATED MOLD AND REGISTERING THE HAIRLINE ON THE FOUNDATION WITH THE INDICATED PATTERN ON THE MOLD, UTILIZING SAID MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION FOR GRIPPING WITH THE FINGERS TO PULL THE FOUNDATION FIRMLY DOWN ON THE RESIN COATED MOLD AND THEREBY CAUSING SAID PLASTIC RESIN TO IMPREGNATE SAID CLOTH AND ENVELOPE THE KNOTS IN THE HAIR STRANDS, PERMITTING SAID RESIN TO SET SO AS TO FIXEDLY POSITION AND CEMENT THE KNOTTED ENDS OF THE HAIR STRANDS IN PLACE IN THE FOUNDATION AND THEREAFTER TRIMMING OFF SAID MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION ALONG THE HAIRLINE DESIRED IN THE FINISHED HAIRPIECE. 